Alex R

Rome Research

1. Education was very important to Romans. The poor didn't get a formal education, but many still learned to read and write. The rich could be schooled and taught by a private tutor. These tutors were very expensive.
2. Schools were set up in a shop or outside gallery of a public building away from weather.
3. Elementary and grammar schools were open to anyone, only having to pay very little for elementary schools, but grammar schools were more expensive. The teachers were usually freed men and the job was not a very good one. Rhetoric schools were like today’s colleges.
4. The elementary schools taught reading, writing, and arithmetic (math).
5. In grammar school they taught grammatica, which was a more advanced grammar, literature, easy literary criticism, and later Greek, Latin, rhetoric, music and geometry were added.
6. To go to a rhetoric school, you had to be a male from a wealthy family, or had to have shown potential in a talent. The most sought for destinations for a rhetoric school were Athens, Rhodes, and Asia Minor .
7. As the need and demand for an education was lowered, the level of education available also dropped.
8. A high or advanced education was considered a status symbol, not just something everyone had. If you just went through elementary school, you learned the advanced techniques on your job as either a farmer or trades person.

Current Problems

1. Going to college is leaving people debt in the future. Some of the lower middle class are having hard times paying for their schooling, having to take loans and financial aid. All of the loans they have to use, leave them in debt for years, because the price for a good education is so high. A year at Columbia University is around $62,161.
2. A survey taken in 2012, showed that most school board members of colleges, think that college is expensive, but also that their school is asking for the right amount. 66% of the college board members said that their school helped better prepare the students for their career, but 56% said that higher education it self helps ready them.
3. College amounts over time
4. Around two-thirds of college students today get some sort of help through financial aid. Any person can apply for a need based aid, which is a calculation on how much you pay for your college without help, and how high your income is. A student can get a loan, or work to pay off the money, if you must absolutely use a financial aid.
5. Some school districts are losing money from their budget, having to cut people from their jobs, and even stop busing. According to a new analysis, at least 26 states will spend less per student than in years before.
6. A report by Campaign for America's Future suggested that cuts in education funding are cutting out physical education, music, increasing class sizes, early childhood education programs, and programs for kids with special needs. http://www.ourfuture.org/files/documents/starving-schools-report.pd
7. Congress, since 1969, has spent more than it's income, which is a deficit. Every time you have a deficit, you borrow money from the bank, which leaves you in debt. To lessen the debt, we ( the government) pay interest which leaves us with a budget cut. In the fiscal year 2012, the US Treasury Department spent $360 billion towards the National Debt. Therefore, the more we spend and spend, the larger the deficit, the more we (the government) pays towards the National Debt, the bigger the budget cuts for education nation wide.
8. In 1960, the US spent about:

• $53.3 billion on defense
• $1.6 billion on education
• $11.7 billion on pensions (equal amounts of money usually after retirement.)
• $1.5 billion on healthcare
• and $3 billion on the welfare system

A total of about $97.3 billion.

In 1980, the US spent about:

• $167.9 billion on defense
• $33.2 billion on education
• $129.3 billion on pensions
• $55.3 billion on healthcare
• $59.9 billion on the welfare system

A total of about $590.9 billion. (see the difference?)

In 2012, the US spent about:

• $902.2 billion on defense
• $153.1 billion on education
• $819.7 billion on pensions
• $846.1 billion on healthcare
• and $451.9 billion on the welfare system,

A total of about $3.8 billion.

In conclusion, the US is spending the least on education.

Questions

How Congress Spends Your Money.

Trueman, Chris. "Roman Education." Roman Education. N.p., 2000. Web. 14 Jan. 201
Farrell, Richard. "Cradles of Education - Ancient Rome." Cradles of Education - Ancient Rome. N.p., 15 Jan. 2011. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.

Mirza, Sumar, and Jason Tsang. "Rome Exposed - Education." Rome Exposed - Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.

Milani-Santarpia, Giovanni. "Ancient Roman Education." Ancient Roman Education. N.p., 4 Aug. 2011. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.
Vedder, Richard. "University Financial Crises: Lessons From Ancient Rome." Innovations. N.p., 21 Dec. 2010. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.

Chantrill, Christopher. "Federal Budgeted1 2012 Government Spending." Government Spending in United States: Federal State Local for 2012. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2013


Expert Contacts

Dear Mr. Bloomer,
Our names are Tess and Alex, and we are 7th graders at Nagel Middle School.
We are doing a project on Ancient Roman education, and were wondering if
you could answer some of our questions about education in Ancient Rome.
- How did the price of school in Ancient Rome compare to the prices of present
day college?
- From what we have researched, it seems that teaching, or being taught was really
considered a punishment. Is this true?
- How did the poor learn all of the things that they taught their children if
they didn’t get a proper education? In other words, were the poor people in the
Roman Empire descended from poor people, who were descended from poor
people, and so on?
Again, we would be so happy if you could respond, and that's perfectly fine if you
can't.
Thank you for your time,
Tess Wells and Alex Raborn

Contact Information:
361 Decio Faculty Hall

(574)631-2324

mbloomer@nd.edu





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